Chapter 126: Chapter-126

Success Criteria:

– Beast Knight Rights Act fully implemented

– Civil war won with minimal casualties

– Economy stabilized post-transition

– Helena’s family can live openly without fear

She worked late into the night, updating plans, calculating probabilities, preparing for a fight that wouldn’t come for years but needed preparation now.

Outside, the palace complex slept.

But inside Duke Romian’s estate, the Fourth Princess—the one everyone had dismissed as weak and irrelevant—was planning the most significant social reform in imperial history.

Not because she cared emotionally about justice.

Not because she felt compassion for the enslaved.

But because she’d calculated that freeing thirty thousand beast knights was the most efficient path to winning the succession battle and building a functional empire afterward.

And if that meant civil war?

Fine.

She’d plan for that too.

Efficiently.

Thoroughly.

Irreversibly.

Just like everything else she did.

—

The succession battle had just become a revolution.

And Elara was leading it—not with passion or idealism, but with cold, precise calculation and an unwavering commitment to making the empire actually work.

The First Consort thought she was fighting a weak princess.

She had no idea she was facing someone who’d just committed to dismantling the entire power structure the noble families had built over centuries.

This was going to be interesting.

Helena’s encrypted message arrived three days after the beast knight delegation left.

Investigation complete. Grandson is deeply compromised—gambling debts, embezzlement, illegal trade connections. Perfect leverage. Recommend immediate approach before he becomes desperate enough to do something unpredictable. Full dossier attached.

—H

Elara reviewed the dossier in her study with Duke Romian and the fox knight.

“Helena’s work is thorough,” Duke Romian said, scanning the documents. “The grandson—Lord Marcus Chen—owes money to at least five different criminal organizations. Total debt is actually higher than we estimated. Twelve thousand gold, not eight.”

“Which makes him more desperate and therefore more likely to accept our offer,” Elara said. “Or more likely to panic and do something irrational.”

“Helena flagged that risk. She recommends we approach within the next two days. After that, one of his creditors is threatening physical enforcement.”

Elara studied Lord Marcus Chen’s profile. Twenty-eight years old. Minor noble with expensive tastes and poor judgment. He had legitimate access to his grandmother Lady Chen’s residence—visited her weekly for family dinners.

Perfect opportunity to access her private safe.

If he cooperated.

“We approach tomorrow,” Elara decided. “Evening, at his residence. Private meeting. I’ll make the offer personally.”

“Your Highness,” the fox knight said carefully, “this feels too convenient. A desperate nobleman with perfect access to exactly what we need, at exactly the right time?”

“You think it’s a trap.”

“I think we should be cautious. Helena’s intelligence is good, but she’s working from outside the capital. She might not know if someone else is also manipulating the grandson.”

“Valid concern.” Elara made notes. “We’ll proceed with full security protocols. You accompany me inside. Duke Romian provides external security. If anything seems wrong, we extract immediately.”

“Agreed,” Duke Romian said. “Though I still think you should let me make the initial approach. Sending a princess to negotiate with a desperate debtor is unusual.”

“Unusual is effective. He’ll be off-balance, more likely to accept without fully thinking through implications.” Elara closed the dossier. “Prepare for tomorrow evening. I want escape routes mapped and emergency extraction ready.”

—

The next evening, Elara arrived at Lord Marcus Chen’s townhouse wearing her white suit and carrying a locked case containing twelve thousand gold in negotiable securities.

The townhouse was in the merchant district—not wealthy enough for the noble quarter, but not poor either. Exactly the kind of place someone with aristocratic pretensions and insufficient funds would live.

The fox knight knocked.

A servant answered, looking nervous. “Y-your Highness? We weren’t expecting—”

“I’m here to see Lord Marcus Chen. Private business matter. He’ll want to take this meeting.”

The servant fled inside. Returned moments later. “Lord Chen will see you. Please, this way.”

They were shown to a sitting room that tried too hard to look expensive. Imported furniture, decorative weapons on the walls, art that was probably fake.

Lord Marcus Chen entered looking exactly like his profile suggested: well-dressed, handsome, with the slightly desperate eyes of someone drowning in debt.

“Your Highness,” he said, bowing. “This is… unexpected. I’m honored, of course, but I’m not sure why—”

“I’m here to discuss your financial situation,” Elara said bluntly. “Specifically, the twelve thousand gold you owe to various creditors, some of whom are threatening violence if you don’t pay within the week.”

His face went white. “I don’t know what you’re talking about—”

“Don’t waste time lying. I have complete documentation of your debts, your gambling losses, and your increasingly desperate attempts to acquire money through questionable means.” Elara set the locked case on the table between them. “I’m here to make an offer.”

Lord Marcus stared at the case. “What kind of offer?”

“I’ll clear all your debts. Twelve thousand gold, paid immediately to your creditors. In exchange, you provide me access to your grandmother Lady Chen’s private safe.”

Silence.

“Don’t look so shocked. I’ve known about Helena since she was born. Known where she lives, who protects her, what her magic does.” The Emperor’s voice was quiet. “I let you hide her because she wasn’t a threat to the empire. Just a daughter with unusual magic who wanted normal life. But if she’s helping Elara now, I need to know the full scope of her involvement.”

Duke Romian’s jaw tightened. “Helena can detect lies through magical resonance. If she testifies at trial, she can prove Lord Marcus Chen is lying about being coerced. But that reveals her existence.”

“Which means she can’t hide anymore. The noble families will know about her. Try to use her.” The Emperor studied Duke Romian’s face. “Are you willing to risk that? To expose your daughter to save mine?”

“Elara promised to protect Helena if we helped her. She made that commitment formally, with witnesses.” Duke Romian met the Emperor’s gaze. “I’m trusting that promise.”

“Interesting. You trust someone who admits she can’t feel emotions.”

“I trust someone who keeps her commitments because breaking them is inefficient. That’s more reliable than emotional promises.”

The Emperor actually smiled. “You sound like Elara. And like Lin Mei. She used to say the same thing—that practical reliability beats emotional sincerity.” He stood. “Bring Helena to the trial. Use her lie detection to expose Lord Marcus Chen. I’ll ensure she’s protected afterward—imperial sanctuary, if necessary.”

“Why? Why help us this much?”

“Because the First Consort just made the same mistake her sister made forty-three years ago. She attacked someone I care about, thinking she could get away with it because I’m too politically weak to fight back.” The Emperor’s eyes went cold. “She’s wrong. I couldn’t protect Lin Mei. I couldn’t protect your mother, Elara. But I can protect Fourth Daughter now. And I will. Even if it costs me the consorts’ loyalty.”

Duke Romian bowed. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“Don’t thank me yet. Elara still has to survive the trial. But I’ll make sure it’s fair. And I’ll make sure the evidence of Lady Chen’s murder gets proper examination.” He paused. “Now go. You have three days to prepare. Use them well.”

Duke Romian left and went immediately to send encrypted messages.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep